Nasi Lemak (Malaysia Coconut Milk Rice)

Nasi Lemak is the de-facto national dish of Malaysia. Nasi Lemak is usually served in the morning as breakfast. The toppings include anchovies sambal, hard-boiled eggs, fried fish and shrimp. Other common toppings include roasted peanuts and cucumber slices.

Ingredient for Coconut Rice:

- 2 cup rice
- 2 1/2 cup water
- 2 pandan leaves
- 3 shallots onion, finely chopped
- 10 tsp thick coconut milk
- 1 slice ginger
-Sugar and salt to taste

Ingredient for sambal bilis:

-1 cup dry ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
-1 large red onion
-1/2 cup peanut
- 3 tsp tamarind pulpwith 1/2 cup hot water to make tamarind paste
- 4 tbsp chili paste
- 6 shallot
- 1 tsp dried shrimp
-4 cloves garlic
- 1 large onion, slice into rounds

How to prepare:

1. Just like making steamed rice, rinse your rice and drain. Add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt, and some water. Add the pandan leaves into the rice and cook your rice.
2. Rinse the dried anchovies and drain the water. Fry the anchovies until they turn light brown and put aside.
3. Pound the prawn paste together with shallots, garlic, and deseeded dried chilies with a mortar and pestle. You can also grind them with a food processor.
4. Slice the red onion into rings.
5. Soak the tamarind pulp in water for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind constantly to extract the flavor into the water. Drain the pulp and save the tamarind juice.
6. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the spice paste until fragrant.
7. Add in the onion rings.
8. Add in the ikan bilis and stir well.
9. Add tamarind juice, salt, and sugar.
10. Simmer on low heat until the gravy thickens. Set aside.
11. Clean the small fish, cut them into half and season with salt. Deep fry.
12. Cut the cucumber into slices and then quartered into four small pieces.
13. Dish up the steamed coconut milk rice and pour some sambal ikan bilis on top of the rice.
14. Serve with fried fish, cucumber slices, and hard-boiled eggs
    

Tamu at Labuan

On a Saturday and Sunday, enjoy a stroll down to the outdoor street markets. All fresh vegetables, foods and crafts on display. The Tamu or weekend markets are in the middle of town are easily recognisable with the colourful canopies of the stalls.

Be ready to bargain or haggle with the stall-holders to ensure that you can get the best bargains.

From the jewellery

To plants...

Or some locally made snacks, Nasi Lemak and freshly made drinks ...

Ceramics...

But any market is noted for it’s fresh produce—whether vegetables, fruit or meat, Tamu is the place to visit.

Craft

Enjoy your visit to Tamu—another interesting local spot on Labuan.

Labuan Port

Speedboat is a great way to travel from Labuan to Menumbok.

It takes just 25 minutes to cross to the mainland

Labuan Port is the sea gateway to Labuan with
container ships transporting goods through the port.

The passenger ferry Sri Labuan Lima

connects Labuan to Kota Kinabalu, Miri and Limbang

The container ship Perseus regularly berths in Labuan

It is at this terminal that you will board the passenger ferry
and also the speed boat that will take you to Menumbok

Adjacent to the port is the oil processing plant

and the berths where ships are repaired and renovated.

One of the tree has gone

LABUAN MUSEUM SQUARE

Opposite the Labuan Square is the Museum Square. It consists of a few old houses of colonial design. One of them has a high gabled roof of orange tiles with eaves and cool recesses. Four old Flame of the Forest trees stand in a square area, casting a shade over park benches and commemorative stones. They were planted by the Chinese, Malay, Indian and European communities in 1953 to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

The various stone plaques record historical events in Labuan. One announces the changing of the island's name from Labuan to Maidashima, by order of General Tojo who pass through Labuan in 1943. Another one dating from the Second World War commemorates both the landing of the 9th Division Imperial Australian Forces on 10 June 1945 at Labuan, marking the start of the Liberation of Labuan and the Borneo mainland from the Japanese. A granite slab also commemorates the 1846 handing over of Labuan by the Brunei Sultanate to the British. The inscriptions are done by sailors on Captain Rodney Mundy's ship 'Iris' on route to Labuan from Hong Kong for the handing over ceremony of Labuan.

During the Japanese Occupation, it was tossed aside by the Japanese but was later retrieved and remounted. It is amazingly in good condition despite all this. The old colonial buildings house the Labuan Museum and a handicraft centre. There is also a memorial commemorating the formation of Malaysia. A bronze plaque is dedicated to the memory of General Maida who died in an air crash at Bintulu while en route to Labuan in 1942.

Labuan Today

THE NEW PHOTO OF LABUAN SQUARE

Labuan IBFC

The island of Labuan was designated as Malaysia’s official offshore financial hub in 1990, operating under the official moniker, Labuan International Offshore Centre, until the end of 2007. During that time the centre grew both in reputation and financial standing.

The name Labuan International Business and Financial Centre was introduced in January 2008 to reflect the jurisdictions’ growth and burgeoning international status, and was accompanied by an aggressive rebranding and marketing exercise.

The jurisdiction’s marketing arm, Labuan IBFC Inc. Sdn. Bhd., was incorporated in July of the same year as the official agency sanctioned by the Malaysian government to market, promote and otherwise serve as the world’s point of contact for the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre.

Going forward Labuan IBFC continues to structure new products, services and regulatory environment such that it is able to play an integral and legitimate role in international trade and finance, while offering significant advantages for corporations and individuals.

Highly flexible tax framework

While the Labuan Offshore Business Activity Tax Act of 1990 (LOBATA) remains in and of itself one of the most business-friendly and flexible such frameworks in the world, offshore companies operating from Labuan may additionally – and as an alternative to LOBATA – opt to be taxed under the Malaysian Income Tax Act of 1967. This has been mandated to allow such companies to further benefit from Malaysia’s extensive double tax agreements with 68 countries globally.

Progressive legislative environment

Where legislation is concerned, currency is the best currency. The global legal landscape is highly fluid – and an offshore jurisdiction that’s unable to evolve along with it will soon find itself playing catch-up. Towards the end of remaining current, and perhaps more importantly, relevant, legislation governing all facets of business and operations in Labuan is continuously reviewed, and where necessary, updated. As of now, several advantageous changes to existing statutes are underway, with several more in the offing.

Strategic location

Labuan IBFC’s position – strategically located between the two growing economies of China and India – as well as Labuan's proximity to several other regional financial centers puts Labuan IBFC in a unique position for tapping the many rapidly growing investment opportunities in the South East Asia.

Deep focus on Shariah-compliant products

Malaysia is fast becoming the world’s financial hub of choice, in line with the Central Bank’s stated goal of becoming an International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC). LOFSA’s role as one of the original participating members on the working group to establish Malaysia as such means we share, and have unique access to, that country’s expertise. This only serves to further strengthen Labuan IBFC's offering with regard to Shariah compliant financial products.

Batik Cake

Batik Cake

Batik Cake is easy to make and it is delicious!. A friend of mine in Labuan makes it to sell at the night market. How to make batik cake?

Ingredients

400g rich tea biscuits (break into small pieces)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
250g butter
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup fresh milk

Directions

In a bowl, whisk sugar, egg, milk and cocoa powder.
Then, in a pan, place butter and heat over slow fire.
Add the whisked ingredients to the butter, stirring continuously.
Once thickened, add the broken biscuits and turn the heat off.
Slowly combine all the biscuits together. Ensure that all the biscuits are covered in the chocolate paste.
Place the mixture in a square tin(line it with greaseproof paper or foil).
Then press gently to ensure that all the biscuits stick to each other.
Place in fridge 3 to 4 hours before cutting with a HOT knife to get a clean cut.

Pohon Batu Beach

Inside Labuan Bird Park

The Labuan Bird Park is near the Chimney at Tanjung Kubong. This tranquil bird park is surrounded by well-landscaped gardens and walking paths. It has three large dome-shaped cages surrounded by beautiful trees and flowering plants. If you wish to escape to peaceful surroundings where you can drink in the beauty and marvel at a large variety of tropical birds take a slow, relaxing walk within the bird park.

Labuan Bird Park is home to many species of Borneo birds only likely to be seen by bird watchers in the deep forests of Borneo. There are plans to collect many of the 580 species of birds found in Borneo’s diverse habitats, from mangroves along the coast to forests in the mountains, and increase the number of birds at this park. Unlike bird watching in the wild, nature lovers and do some bird watching without the arduous treks in the jungle or any need to tow expensive equipment.

When inside the aviaries, it is advisable not to feed the birds.

You'll find you won't need binoculars to watch the birds as everything is up close!

The birds come from various habitats that span mangrove swamps to thick rainforests to coastal jungles and highlands.